


Makeover My Heart

by Thea_Annette



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: A little angst, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Happy Ending, Inspired by the Hallmark movie Fixing Pete, Makeover, Matt the Radar Technician references, Newspapers, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Rey and Ben work for a newspaper, fashion - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-09
Updated: 2021-01-17
Packaged: 2021-03-12 18:01:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,770
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28639692
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thea_Annette/pseuds/Thea_Annette
Summary: “Ben Solo?”Ben turned around and gave her an impish look. “I know my book is good, but I am not doing book signings right now, sweetheart. You can come back later and get that autograph. I don’t blame you for wanting it though. There might only be a few writers better than me,” he bragged.“Oh? And who would the others be?” Rey asked indifferently.“What does it matter? You’ve got me.”“Oh, I’ve got you all right – in my rearview mirror.” Rey stated disgustedly as she sauntered off. “This is never going to work.”_Popular fashion writer Rey Niima has worked hard her whole life to have the perfect life she is now enjoying. Even her dream of become an editor for a prestigious fashion magazine is about to come true. The catch? She has to give a makeover to the most challenging and childish person she has ever met – Ben Solo.
Relationships: Poe Dameron/Rey, Rey/Ben Solo
Comments: 9
Kudos: 35





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This early posting of Makeover My Heart brought to you by boredom. Between being stuck in the house because of being quarantined and then being stuck in the house because of ice, I am past bored. (*muffled screaming*) Anyway, I am rather excited about this one. I always enjoy watching Fixing Pete. This idea popped in my head about two weeks ago now and I can't leave it alone. I will definitely be veering away from the movie in several spots because I felt like they could have done some things better. I will hit those when we get to them. In the meantime, enjoy!

Perfect. Rey’s life was absolutely perfect. She was a wildly successful writer for Resistance, one of the most prestigious fashion magazines in the Southeast, and she was also one of the most sought-after fashion consultants in Atlanta. The high-rise apartment that she called home was immaculate and styled by Rose who was the best interior designer at Resistance and one of her best friends.

Rey was dating Poe Dameron who was practically the most perfect man in the world. They were all but engaged. He was the extremely handsome, smart, and suave sports anchor for the local news station. Together, he and Rey had their lives perfectly mapped out. Within the next two to three years Rey planned to become an editor for a fashion magazine, and Poe planned to be a sports anchor at a major news station. After that, they would make their engagement official and would get married a year later and have no more than two kids a further two years later. Their home would be a sprawling two story with lots of land. It was a perfect plan for a perfect life.

This perfect life was shaken on a perfectly not normal day. Rey woke up to the sun shining through the balcony windows of her ninth story apartment. After indulging in an extra five minutes of the warmth and comfort of her memory foam mattress, Egyptian cotton sheets, and fleece blankets, she stretched and turned to get out of bed. Setting her feet on the floor, Rey padded to her kitchen to make a cup of green tea to go with her omelet. After breakfast, she went for her morning jog in the park before returning home to get ready for work. On her way out the door, Rey sent a quick message to Poe.

**Good morning, handsome. Missed you this morning during my jog. Have a wonderful day. I love you!**

When she arrived at work, Rose was immediately in her office.

“Congratulations on your latest makeover! I was astounded by the difference you made!” She squealed excitedly as soon as she was in the door.

“Anything would have been a vast improvement over her earlier looks. Honestly, what woman in her right mind still dresses like she is twelve when she is in her thirties?” Rey asked exasperatedly. She would never understand how some people could choose to be that way when taking care of yourself takes just a few minutes longer.

“So, Finn and I were wondering, have you picked a date yet?”

“Rose, you know that Poe and I are engaged in plan only, and we have a five-”

“A five-year plan. Yes, we know.” Rose sighed. “Sweetie, why not just go ahead and get married? You both have said that is what you plan to do. What will change if you move forward with your plans? You have been together for two years already. Why not just go for it?”

Rose never got the answer to that question (probably for the best since Rey didn’t have an answer) because as soon as the question exited her mouth, Rey was called up to Amilyn Holdo’s office. It felt just like being called to the principal’s office. She was pretty sure she hadn’t done anything wrong, but that didn’t alleviate any of the worry. Her fingers were rather sore from her twisting them by the time the elevator announced her arrival at the appropriate floor. As soon as she was in the office, she began apologizing for whatever came to mind.

“I am so sorry, Miss Holdo. That wasn’t my best make-over. I could have done so much better, and the piece I wrote on it could have been a lot tighter. Was it my grammar? Oh! Or was it the hair color? I can speak with Hux about that before our next client. I will do bet-“

Amilyn held up her hand to stop Rey’s word vomit. “It was wonderful, as-per-usual. I have something else I would like to speak with you about. We are starting a new supplement in the magazine. I wish to name you the editor of it.”

The overwhelming excitement that attacked Rey’s mind could only be compared to the finale of a Disney fireworks show. “I would be honored to do that! Thank you so much!”

“Don’t get to far ahead of yourself. This comes with a challenging assignment for the supplement’s first piece. It will be a cover story.” Amilyn’s eyes twinkled in such a way that Rey knew this story was a loaded conversation. “There is a reporter in the Rebel Media Group - of which I remind you that we are a part - that is in desperate need of a makeover. This reporter is a large part of the reason that any of our papers sell so this does affect you. This makeover can only help Rebel.”

“I notice you are avoiding telling me who she is.” Rey stated matter-of-factly.

“He. Not she. His book is being published by Rebel Media, and we want to introduce him properly. Your story would do that. Follow me downstairs to First Order Entertaiment.” Amilyn stood and began walking toward the elevators.

As she followed her boss, Rey got this horrid sinking feeling that she knew exactly who this person was. There was only one person in FOE that was that skilled at writing. People had called them equals in their field even though Rey was sure he wasn’t doing any kind of good by rehashing the latest movie failure or success.

“He is a bit of a mess. A man child really which works for the entertainment side of things but will not be good for his public image. You will need to adjust his look, the way he carries himself, the way he interacts with others. Rey, you are our only hope.”

Rey felt like she was going to be sick. This was exactly who she was worried it would be. In all her twenty-nine years of life, she had never been asked to do something this impossible.

“Your next makeover will be,” the ding of the elevator interrupted Amilyn’s words. The doors whooshed open to reveal the bull pin of First Order Entertainment. Standing in the midst of a heated debate about the Galaxy Wars prequels vs. sequels was the future of her career. “Ben Solo.” Amilyn triumphantly stated.

Rey gave the tall man a quick once over. Man-child was a great description. He was wearing a Marvel graphic tee of Loki that was easily a size or two too big and baggy jeans with a chain hanging off the hip – none of which appeared to have been washed. His lengthy, scraggly blonde hair and overly large glasses did not in any way fit his face with its overexaggerated features. This man was long overdue a makeover, but all Rey could think was: _Impossible_.

Snoke, the editor for FOE, stepped out of his office and dispersed the rabble. “Don’t you lot have jobs to be doing?” he bellowed.

“Yes, sir. Sorry for disturbing the peace and quiet that should be reigning supreme in this room while we attempt to write Pulitzer pieces. It won’t happen again.” Ben announced as he returned to his desk where he sent out a message to the group. Rey managed to see that it was a continuation of the before mentioned debate.

“You want me to give Ben Solo a makeover?” Rey asked Amilyn incredulously.

“Rebel Media has a lot riding on his book. He gets more readers for his articles than half of all Rebel put together. That is quite a lot, Rey.”

“He is a glorified movie critic. Besides, making him pay attention to personal hygiene and proper clothing will not fix that mess.” Rey mouthed off.

Amilyn said nothing else with her mouth. Everything she had to say was relayed through her eyes. Rey tried to hold up to it for as long as she could, but once Amilyn decides something should be done, there was no going back. With a deep sigh, Rey relented and walked over to where Ben was now sitting.

“Ben Solo?”

Ben turned around and gave her an impish look. “I know my book is good, but I am not doing book signings right now, sweetheart. You can come back later and get that autograph. I don’t blame you for wanting it though. There might only be a few writers better than me,” he bragged.

“Oh? And who would the others be?” Rey asked indifferently.

“What does it matter? You’ve got me.”

“Oh, I’ve got you all right – in my rearview mirror.” Rey stated disgustedly as she sauntered off. “This is never going to work.” She told Amilyn on the way to the elevator.

“It will work. He is not that bad. Just has a head full of ideas and absolutely no filter. Give it one more shot. I will text you a location to meet him tomorrow during lunch.”

Rey sighed. This was going to be a long and difficult assignment.

_

“Good evening, dear.” Poe announced as he stepped into Rey’s kitchen that evening and placed a kiss on her cheek. “You sounded excited over the phone. What is the good news?”

“My boss offered me an editorial position!” Rey announced. “The first piece is mine. It is a cover story. I will be doing a make-over of one of the male writers in Rebel. Maybe you could give me some pointers.”

“That’s wonder, darling!” Poe proclaimed. “I wish I could stay and help, but I have work tonight. Big Braves game to cover. I have to go. Love you!”

Stepping up beside her, Poe placed another kiss to her cheek before walking out.

“Love you more.” Rey said to his retreating back.

_

After Poe had left, Rey called Rose and invited her over to the apartment. She was going to need all the help she could get to deal with Ben. Finn came along with Rose so that Rey could have some much-needed male advice.

“I don’t think I can do this one. I am way out of my depth here.” Rey worried to her friends as they sat on her couch eating oatmeal raisin cookies and drinking chamomile tea.

Rose snorted before vehemently stating, “Oh please. I have never seen you run away from a challenge.”

“He doesn’t strike me as the kind of guy who even wants to change. So honestly, what can I do?” Rey asked.

Rose shrugged her shoulders in agreement, but Finn thought otherwise.

“Men like a good confidence boost, and it has more power and a greater affect when that confidence boost comes from a woman. Especially a beautiful woman such as yourself. So yes, he will eventually go along with this. Though do be prepared, there will be resistance at first.” 

“So, Finn, you are saying that this is a good idea?”

“Think of it this way, Rey,” Finn stated as he leveled her with a confident look, “you are taking mercy on his poor soul.”

_

The next day, Rey found herself walking toward the last thing she would normally ever find herself near – a hotdog stand. At the front of the short line, she saw her mission. Ben Solo was ordering some monstrosity that she was sure could never be properly eaten with hands. It would definitely require a fork and knife. To her mounting disgust, he added ketchup and mustard to the top of a hot dog that was already heavily laden with what looked like onions and extra chili.

With his health hazard in hand, Ben walked over to a picnic table that was settled near the food cart. Rey decided that now was her chance. She wandered over and sat directly across from him all the while noting how disgusting the table was and the fact that he was attempting (and failing) to eat his food using his hands. At least he appeared to be enjoying himself while he simultaneously ruined her appetite. It was a disgusting sight to behold, and it insulted her perfected manners.

“I’m Rey Niima.”

“I’m aware.” He stated almost coldly. “We met on your first day at Resistance. I sat down next to you during a company-wide meeting, and you promptly picked up all your stuff and moved far away. Made me feel wonderful. Thanks.”

“Well. Let the past die. Kill it if you have to.” She grumbled. “I have a proposition for you.”

“Oh? What can a glorified movie critic do to help you in fashion?” Her face burned over the knowledge that he had heard that.

“Actually, it is what I can do for you. I would like to do a makeover. To help you as your start your book tour.” She responded with a sweet smile plastered on her face.

“Amilyn put you up to this?” He asked with what appeared to be no surprise. At Rey’s confirming nod, he continued. “Pass.”

“Come on. You will be out there selling your book and, in today’s market, that essentially means that you are selling yourself. A make-over can only help.” She supplied hopefully. “Plus, all women love a guy who looks good, so this will help you in the long run too.”

“Hard pass. I like how I look, and no woman has ever bothered with me so no makeover it going to change that. I have a good thing going right now, and I don’t need you messing that up. If it isn’t broke, don’t fix it,” was his half-baked response.

Rey made a sound that indicated she didn’t agree while she scratched the bridge of her nose. “It’s broke. Trust me. It broke a long time ago,” she muttered.

“What was that?”

“I said, why don’t you give it a shot? It can only make your life better. What do you have to lose?”

Ben gave her a tight-lipped, unimpressed look.

“I didn’t mean it like that,” Rey back peddled.

“I realize that I am not perfect like you, but I am good as is. If I let you do this and it doesn’t work, I am just some loser whose face is all over the front of some magazine.” He stood up and tossed his trash in the garbage before walking off without a care.

_

Rey stood outside Snoke’s office and listened to the steady rise and fall of both men’s voices. She maybe felt a little bad that she went over Ben’s head to get Snoke involved, but she was determined that she was doing this cover story. Ben would get over any discomfort. Besides, she was likely to be the uncomfortable one here.

After a good thirty-minute chat, Ben finally stepped out of the office. If looks could have killed, she would be six feet under.

“So. I hear you are in,” she stated sweetly.

“I may throw up on you,” he groused.

“Just remember that if you do that, you will be paying my dry-cleaning bill.” She pulled out the sticky note she had been carrying around and smacked it to his chest. “You have your before photo shoot tomorrow morning at 9:00 at this address. Be there on time.”

With that final word, she walked off leaving a bewildered Ben in her wake.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Forget that I ever said anything about an update schedule. I should know better by now than to set one of those up. A new chapter will be added each time I finish a chapter. I just completed chapter 5, outlined the rest, and have an official chapter count (could go up one or two but we shall see). Anyway, enjoy this chapter! The makeover has officially begun!

_“Fixing Ben” by Rey Niima_

_Within moments of meeting him, I understood what my job was. All men have a little boy in them. Ben Solo, however, allowed the little boy to run his life. He desperately needed an adult to help him grow up. I had my work cut out for me._

_

_Yet another perfect morning_ , Rey sighed to herself as she basked in the pleasure of being able to have her normal morning jog with Poe.

“That makeover starts today,” she informed him. “He has the before pictures today; I help clean him up; we take the after pictures; and, just like that, I am an editor! That is summarized version, but you get the idea. If only my entire professional future was not resting on Ben Solo of all people.”

“Did I tell you that I got that interview for sports anchor?” Poe asked out of nowhere.

Rey gasped in excitement. “Poe that is wonderful! Things are going according to plan. I will be a fashion editor, and you will be a hotshot sports anchor. All that is left is a storybook wedding, our two beautiful children, and happily ever after.”

“We are right on schedule!” Poe proclaimed as he looked down at his watch. “Oops! I have to go.”

“But I wanted to talk,” Rey protested.

“We just did,” Poe stated matter-of-factly as he walked off confidently.

_

“Rose, I have the pictures from Ben’s photo shoot. Come look at these with me. I am definitely going to need your advice.” Rey called to her friend as she walked to her office.

Rose quickly scrambled from her desk and followed Rey. The girls plugged in the zip drive and started flipping through the photos.

“He looks emotionally constipated. Why doesn’t he smile?” Rose asked at one point.

“What is with the thumbs-up and the orange vest? Was he a radar tech at some point?” Rey asked at another.

After they flipped through every picture, Rose declared that he was a perfect candidate for a makeover.

“Tell me when and where I need to meet you to start this process,” Rose chattered excitedly.

“I am going to his apartment tomorrow to see how bad the damage is. After that, you can meet us at the Mos Eisley Men’s Boutique on Tattoine Blvd.” Rey supplied.

_

The apartment building that Ben lived in was much nicer than Rey would ever have imagined. She figured that he would possibly live in a small dump near a movie theater, but this was a nice high-rise like her own. Following Ben’s instructions, she confidently waltzed through the lobby and took the elevator to the second floor. When the doors opened for her stop, she turned right and went to end of the hall where she found apartment 187. It took a few knocks, but eventually Ben answered the door.

“Welcome. Come on in,” he waved her in like he was welcoming her to Buckingham Palace. Except, it was nothing like Buckingham. “Make sure you wipe off your feet.”

“Yeah. On the way out,” Rey muttered.

The layout was glorious. Every designer’s dream. It was a nice open floor plan, and he had a great view of the park that made Rey a little jealous (she had a great view of buildings). That was where the wonder ended. He was a slob living in an a-typical bachelor pad. His black leather couch and recliner had obviously been well loved but were way past their time. If it was a flat surface, it was littered with movie cases, DVDs, and take-out containers. His small kitchen had a sink full of dishes, and the counter wasn’t much better. But, the TV and sound system were top notch.

“All that’s missing is the mushroom cloud. Honestly, I dread to see your closet,” Rey mumbled. He pinned her with another unimpressed stare before he led her toward his room.

To her great shock, he let her enter first. _So you do know something about good manners. Wonder where that came from,_ she mused.

Determinedly ignoring the state of his bedroom, Rey threw open the doors to the closet and was met by a disheartening revelation. After pulling out half of his wardrobe and discarding it in the already started pile next to the closet door, she let out an exasperated sigh.

“You actually don’t have any usable clothes, do you?” came her shocked question.

“What are you talking about? I use all those clothes,” he sassed.

“Not what I meant. This looks like a fifteen-year old’s closet. Do you have something other than graphic tees? Like maybe a suit?” she asked out of genuine curiosity.

“Yep. Move,” he commanded.

Rey gladly slid out of the way to let him reach in and find what was hiding from her eyes. When he pulled it out, she wished it was still hidden.

The suit he was holding out for her inspection caused an incredulous laugh to escaped her. “Ben. That suit is straight out of the 80s. This won’t work. None of your clothes will work. All of this will have to go, and we will have to start from scratch,” she announced as she pulled out a well-cared for black Galaxy War’s t-shirt.

“Not that one. It is signed by the guy who played the main villain. That is a collector’s item. It goes nowhere,” Ben barked in defense of his shirt. She watched him fold it reverently and put it in a small box that was sitting in the back of his closet.

Rey rolled her eyes and started thinking. This was going to be harder than she originally figured it would be.

_

“All right, Rose. Just warning you. He has no filter. What comes up, comes out,” Rey warned as they stood outside the boutique waiting for Ben.

Rose hummed in response. “Surely, he isn’t that bad.”

“I am not going into some fru-fru boutique. Don’t care if it says _men’s_ on the sign. I would like to retain my man card,” came a deep voice behind them.

Rey snorted as she turned to him to give her own unimpressed look. “If this is what your standards for a man are like then you gave up your man card the moment you dyed your hair. A man wouldn’t be afraid to go in this store and find some decent clothes.” She ended by giving him a sickeningly sweet smile.

Well, that did it. Ben cocked his head to side and looked at her like she was someone he had never seen before. Any other time and any other person, she might have thought they looked like a cute puppy, but this was Ben Solo, her annoying project. She did however notice a bit of the fight leave him, and in its place she thought there might be a little curiosity.

“Just try to have fun with it,” Rose piped up.

“And who is this?”

“This is Rose. She is going to be my consultant while I work with you,” Rey supplied.

Ben leaned over to Rey and asked the worst possible question he could come up with: “Can she even reach anything in this store?”

Rey’s eyes rolled so hard she was sure that they could be heard moving. She looked over at Rose and mouthed an I told you while Ben was happily oblivious to his slip in decorum. Rose shook her head and followed as her best friend led the way into the shop. Rey stopped abruptly in the entrance and turned her attention on Ben.

“When we get in there, just try on clothes and keep your mouth shut,” she suggested in such a way that left no room for argument.

_

Their first step was to find clothes that actually fit him. Rose suggested they just start with the size he was currently in thinking that maybe they were just stretched out of shape. That idea was scrapped when he came out of the dressing room looking like he was wearing a sack. Rey’s guess was too small. He flopped the shirt and pants over the dressing room door with a disgruntled “Next.”

When they finally found the correct size, both girls were flabbergasted. Rey had figured that the best place to start was with something that any guy would have in his wardrobe – a plain tee and a pair of dark wash jeans. In correctly fitting clothing, it became clear that he was not what he projected. Instead of being a flabby desk worker or a super thin nerd like they suspected due to how he dressed, Ben turned out to be all muscle. The shirt was straining around his arms, and it highlighted the fact that he was actually quite trim. Jeans that fit right only served to make him appear taller.

“Well, now that we have your clothing size figured out, we can look for a style,” Rey squeaked out.

Ben raised his eyebrows in consternation but followed the instructions to keep his mouth shut as he trailed Rey around the store. That was when things got interesting, because around the third hat he was forced to try on, the girls were laughing hysterically.

“Do people actually wear these?” he asked as he put the beret on his head. “I feel like I should be a mime right now.” With that said, he began acting like he was in a box.

When this behavior continued, Rey thought about hiding from embarrassment. With every new hat, Ben would pull some silly stunt. The cowboy hat had him walking around like he was in the Wild West; the summer hat had him behaving like a gondolier in Venice; and the bowler hat had him acting like a gang leader from the 20s. Somewhere in all of this, Rey realized that he was having fun and that he was slowly dragging her and Rose into it with him.

Next up, they began locating shirts and pants (shoes had to be tabled for another store since they didn’t carry his size there). With each new outfit, he came out of the dressing room like he was on the runway and would get in some crazy pose. The girls were falling all over themselves in hysterics at his antics. Things were certainly not going like Rey thought they would.

_

At the end of the day, Ben had a brand-new selection of clothes for his wardrobe. They opted to forgo any hats except for a beanie to use during colder months. Sunglasses hit the top of the list when they figured out that he had contacts but just never used them. Along with several shirt and pant combos, they were also able to locate a couple suits that fit him rather well.

On their way out of the last store, Ben had somehow managed to talk both girls into getting ice cream. He gave them a pained look as they both ordered small peach milkshakes while he ordered some chocolate monstrosity. He made a show of eating his sundae while they sat around a picnic table outside the ice cream parlor.

“Don’t forget, Ben, I will be at your apartment early tomorrow to begin the cleanup process. This could take a while so make sure that you have an air mattress that you can use for the time being,” Rey reminded him as she and Rose were getting in their car to leave.

“Air mattress?” he asked in confusion.


	3. Chapter 3

_“Fixing Ben” by Rey Niima_

_Upon further inspection, I discovered the terrifying truth – not only did Ben need a whole new wardrobe, he also needed a man cave makeover. There had to be species of mushroom unheard of growing in his refrigerator. It was decided then and there that it was time for the man child to clean his room._

_

This time, Rey only had to knock once before Ben opened the door to his apartment. He very nearly guffawed when he saw what she was wearing. Her outfit looked precariously close to a hazmat suit without the head covering. In its place was a pair of goggles. She also had her initials bedazzled on the front of her jumpsuit. His merriment died and his eyes grew wide with apprehension as he saw that she was not alone. Rey had made sure to have a little posse of workers with her to help clean up the disaster area that was Ben’s apartment.

“Show no mercy,” she commanded as she purposefully stepped into the apartment.

The workers brought in cleaners, trash bags, cleaning rags, a vacuum cleaner, and a lot of other stuff that Ben pointedly avoided looking at. His trepidation only increased the longer he thought about it. He had made a deal with himself that maybe it was time to try to work on some things in his life, and he knew that he needed help with some of these changes, but watching as Rey and her people dragged things in to start the process in his apartment kinda freaked him out.

While her people began setting up for a deep clean, Rey gave out her instructions. “Give all the furniture a good check. If it is broken or torn, write it down so that I can see if it needs to replaced. If it is just dirty or scuffed, please try to clean it up. DVD’s go in the cases, dirty laundry goes in the bedroom to be sorted out by me and Ben, trash goes in the trash can, any food that is out of date goes in the trash can…” and on she went for what sounded like a full five minutes.

“Ben, you and I will start cleaning in your room. Did you get that air mattress?” she suddenly announced as she started walking down the hall.

In a haze of panic, he raced after her to his bedroom where he found her standing dumbfounded in the doorway glaring at the piles of his old clothes like they were gum on the bottom of her favorite pair of shoes.

“You didn’t get rid of the clothes that we got rid of?” came her incredulous question. “Trash bags, Ben. Go get them,” she ordered and then proceeded to mutter and ramble about how this was going to make the whole process take longer.

Taking a deep breath, he walked out to where he saw the box of trash bags had been deposited and pulled out several. He slowly meandered back to his room loath to let go of what had been his comfort zone for so long. Upon entering his room, he found Rey already pilling things up to make it easier to load in the bags. She even had his sheets and comforter removed from the bed.

“Do you get headaches often?” she asked.

Ben gave her a quizzical look. “Yeah. All the time.”

“I figured. Your pillow is awful and that mattress looks like it is ancient. Now is as good a time as any to go ahead and replace it - hence the air mattress. You might even benefit from something a little bigger than a full-sized bed,” she commented. “Pull open a bag and start filling it up.”

“How much are we clearing out of here?” Ben asked unsure that he wanted to know the answer.

“If it is worn out, it is out,” she elaborated succinctly.

Ben dragged in a deep breath as he opened a trash bag and began going around the room collecting trash only. Rey noticed rather quickly that he was avoiding any and all of the clothes that needed to go. With a single-minded focus, she picked up a stack of pants that were well past usable age and walked over to him. Standing in front of him, she smiled, opened the bag a little further, and dropped the well-worn clothes in it.

“You are not getting out of helping with everything here, Ben. We aren’t cleaning out your life. Just the things that are worn out and _need_ to be replaced. It is time to let some of it go,” she insisted.

“But… that’s my lucky shoes,” he whined as she prepared to toss a pair of sneakers with cracked soles into the trash. He lunged for them, and they ended up in a pile on the floor playing an odd game of tug-of-war.

“Let them go, Ben. They are going to destroy your joints. Do you want to have knee-replacement surgery before you are forty?” she reasoned once they were on their knees in front of each other each pulling the shoes in a different direction.

Ben whined a little more before relenting and getting back up. This was going to be a very long day.

_

Rey honestly expected him to resist a little more than he did, but it appeared that Ben actually noticed that some of the junk around his home needed to go. He did get a little protective of those old shoes, some food that he apparently liked but forgot about (it was a science experiment and therefore needed to go), and several shirts that were well loved and very holey. The poor man was being pushed outside his comfort zone and was definitely struggling with it. Rey honestly wondered if anyone had ever tried to help him grow.

The breaking point seemed to come when they reached his living room after three days of near constant work. It was the one place that Rey knew she wouldn’t have to replace everything. There were, however, a few things that did need to go. The couch and recliner were threadbare, and the springs were one thread breaking away from making an appearance. His poor coffee table had digs, scratches, a bad paint job, and a piece of cardboard meant to hold it up on one side where the leg had been broken. It was past time for this stuff to go, but when she moved to push the chair out into the hallway to wait on someone to take it out to the dumpster, Ben put his foot down.

“Nope. I draw the line here. That chair is the only thing I found big enough for me. Even the couch is kinda small,” he growled as he stood on the opposite side of the chair from her preventing her from pushing it any further. The glare he gave her might have been intimidating if it hadn’t been for those ridiculous glasses and awful hair. Instead, she just smiled.

“Ben. I can find you a new chair. I know where to shop for chairs that are built for people your size. You have to let go of this one because if you don’t, a spring is going to pop out and be VERY uncomfortable,” she insisted.

Ben stood his ground during the following stare down. In the end, Rey won by having him sit in the chair claiming that it couldn’t actually be that comfortable. Even though he tried his best to hide it, she could tell that the one spring she had taken special note of was sticking in the back of his right thigh near the knee. In retaliation for his troublesome behavior over the last few days, she decided to take a page out of Ben’s book and do something very immature. She found a rather heavy item and dropped it in his lap in an effort to drive the literal point home. The grimace on his face told her that he got it. The chair was in the hall quicker than Rey could blink.

“You better be right about being able to find another chair,” he stated grumpily a little while later as they were down on all fours cleaning the carpet in the apartment.

“I take that as a personal challenge. You better believe that I will find the perfect chair just so I can say 'I told you so,’” she retorted smugly.

Ben sat back on his heels and regarded her with a steady gaze. From anyone else, it might have been a little creepy, but Rey knew he was just trying to figure something out. Besides, she was starting to not mind so much because it gave her an excuse to stare at his obnoxiously gorgeous brown eyes. Although, the more she looked the more she realized that they were hazel, but the brown definitely stood out.

“Do you ever just have fun?” he suddenly asked. “Everything in your life seems to be about perfection.”

Rolling her eyes, Rey confidently boasted: “It is entirely possible to have fun in the pursuit of perfection. And, for the record, I do have fun.”

The next thing she did took Ben completely by surprise. Leaning over, she scooped up a handful of carpet cleaner and chucked it at him. The giggles that overtook her came as a shock to both of them.

“See!” she giggled. “I had fun!”

Shaking loose of the daze that had settled over him, Ben collected his own pile of soap and tossed it back starting a soap suds war that lasted all of two minutes. It ended about the time they both realized that they now had an even bigger mess to clean up. Instead of the normal sour mood that would have overtaken Rey because of such a disaster, she laughed harder than she had in years.

When their mess was cleaned up and the rest of the apartment was situated so that Ben could live in it for another week while they painted and before the new furniture arrived, Rey realized that it was past time to leave so that she could meet Poe for dinner.

“We can meet tomorrow morning around 10:00 in front of the office so that we can go furniture shopping. Someone issued a challenge earlier that I fully intend to live up to!” she reminded him on her way out the door.

“Does this mean I get to test all the furniture before we purchase it?” he asked cheekily.

“Don’t get any fancy ideas, Ben. This is furniture not those hats from Mos Eisley,” she firmly stated but knew by the mischievous glint in his eyes that he heard about half of what she said. Tomorrow would definitely be interesting.

_

“Ben. What. Are. You. Doing?” Rey asked incredulously after she caught Ben sprawled out on a mattress while clutching a throw pillow to his chest and snoring obnoxiously.

There was a sudden catch in the snore before he cracked an eye open and stared at her. “I am testing it,” he grumbled, “and you woke me up.”

“Did not. Up.” She commanded. After another minute with Ben still stretched out on the bed, she asked, “Is this the one you want?”

“No. I want a nap. We have been going for four hours straight. By the way, we haven’t found that chair yet.” And there was that mischievous look in his eyes again.

“Chair is next. Which mattress? You have tested all of them. Pick one,” she groaned.

This man was exasperating. Rey was about two minutes away from smacking him silly at any given moment, but then he would do something that would set her off into peals of laughter and the smack countdown would start over. Thankfully, he picked a mattress and they were able to move on to the La-Z-Boy Furniture Gallery to find the perfect chair.

“My fost… a very dear friend of mine had a friend who was extremely tall. She said that he was able to find something the right size for him here. Since then, this is the only place I look for furniture for tall people in. What do you think?” Rey inquired almost excitedly. She found it rather odd that she would be so excited to know Ben’s thoughts about this. It was probably just because he had a unique view point that none of her friends had. Equally as odd to her was the fact that she almost opened up to him about her childhood. She decided to mull over these things later.

“Kinda overwhelming,” he slowly breathed out punctuating each syllable. His eyes were large as they cast all around the room.

“Well, then it is a good thing we are here for a chair and matching couch. That will make it less overwhelming,” she consoled.

They wandered around the store for a solid thirty minutes while Ben gained his bearings. Rey could tell the man was out of his element. The one mercy she felt that could be afforded him was to allow him to take his time.

Suddenly, he stopped and Rey, because she wasn’t paying attention to where she was walking, ran straight into his back. A little disoriented from slamming into what felt like a brick wall, she had to shake her head to clear it. When Rey felt like she was able to focus, she looked up to find his gaze trained in one direction. She followed his gaze and was actually rather impressed with what he had found.

“You need to test it out?” she asked cheekily causing a deep chuckle to resound in his chest and a crooked grin to appear on his face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I opted to split this chapter. There was so much happening that it really needed to happen it two parts. 
> 
> In the movie, right after they went clothes shopping, they immediately moved on to dealing with the guy's hair. I never did like that the girl didn't start paying the guy any real attention until he looked good. It made it feel like it was more about the superficial than an actual relationship. I decided to shake that up with this chapter and the next. I am letting them spend some time together to get to know each other before the official makeover. Also, there is NO way that she would realistically be able to get a top notch hair stylist in less than a few days. I know one of those type stylists. You don't just get in to see him unless you make an appointment over a month in advance.
> 
> Next chapter will hopefully be up sometime over this coming weekend.

**Author's Note:**

> So I am picturing Ben's blonde hair (his Matt look) as being a little longer - slightly shorter than Kylo Ren's hair. Also, Snoke is in this, but he will more or less be a neutral character that only pops up every once in a while. Unless boredom hits again, I won't post the next chapter until next weekend. 
> 
> As always, thank you for reading! Comment and kudos are always appreciated!


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